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UFC 87: Seek and Destroy pre fight analysis and predictions

Itâ€™s that time again, folks. UFC 87: Seek and Destroy is this Saturday, and I have provided an in depth analysis and predictions.

The card is one of the more star studded in some time, featureing Georges St. Pierre, Jon Fitch, Brock Lesnar, and TUF Alumniâ€™s Kenny Florian and Manny Gamburyan.

UFC Lightweights
-Kenny Florian vs. Roger HuertaI never got the hype around Roger Huerta. Yeah, I know, he is 6-0 in the UFC, but look at the level of competition he has fought: Jason Dent, John Halverson, Douglas Evans, and Alberto Crane. A relative Zuffa newcomer, Leonard Garcia, took him to the limit at UFC 69. I realize he choked out Clay Guida in his last fight and that is a legitimate accomplishment. Kenny Florian is on a whole other level, though.

Kenny Florian may have one of the worst nicknames in MMA, but he also has serious Muay Thai and BJJ skills. Leonard Garcia hurt Huerta several times in their fight, and although he is an exceptional striker, Garcia doesnâ€™t have the power in his punches to finish a lot of his fights. As Kenny has said himself â€œI finish fightsâ€. He striking is absolutely brutal. Everything he throws is delivered with bad intentions. I donâ€™t think that Huerta is going to be able to handle everything that Florian is going to throw at him, and I believe sooner he later he will fall to the canvas, praying for salvation from the onslaught of punches and elbows that Kenny Florian will be throwing at him.

Prediction: Kennny Florian TKO/KO Round 3

UFC Heavyweights
-Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
This is a tough one to call. Brock Lesnar has all the tools to be one of the best heavyweight MMA fighters in the world. The problem is that Brock Lesnar has a humongous ego, and thinks that because he was a great NCAA wrestler 5-10 years ago and a pro wrestling champion, that he should be fighting the upper echelon of MMA talent in the infancy of his mixed martial arts career.

You would think that Lesnar would scale back a little bit after submitting to a Frank Mir knee bar at UFC 81, but now he finds himself inside the octagon with Heath Herring.

Herring is a better heavyweight fighter then Mir, in my opinion. He has been in the ring and the cage with some of the biggest, baddest, and strongest men in the sport. On top of that, he has been looking fantastic since he changed camps and is taking his training as seriously as he should have his whole career.

I have to believe that Lesnar has been training hard. I donâ€™t think his desire to win and dedication to training has ever been in question. But he wants to keep fighting the best that the UFC has to offer, and at 250,000 dollars a pop, that is what Dana White is going to give him.

I believe that this fight will go longer then the Mir fight, but I think the outcome will be quite similar. â€œThe Texas Crazy Horseâ€ is a threat on the ground and on his feet. I think he will weather the initial storm that Brock Lesnar has to offer, find his rhythm, and eventually catch Brock in a submission.

Prediction: Heath Herring â€“ Submission: Armlock Round 3

UFC Lightweights:
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson
Since losing via shoulder injury to Nate Diaz in the The Ultimte Fighter 5 finale, Gamburyan has been submitting his way through UFC lightweights. He has had 2 fights since that loss and has spent a total of 202 seconds in the UFC octagon. At UFC 87, Gamburyan finds himself opposite Rob Emerson, one of the toughest lightweights in the division. Emerson does not have a lot of quit in him, which works to his benefit because he has a few holes in his game. Unfortunately for Emerson, Gamburyan is just as tough and has legitimate skills on the ground. Emerson has never been stopped; all 6 of his losses have come by way of decision. Still I think the crafty and powerful submission machine that is Manny Gamburyan will find a way to choke out Emerson in round 2.

Prediction: Manny Gamburyan Submission: Choke Round 2

UFC Welterweight Championshipt of the world
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch Two of the best welterweights in the world will go at it this Saturday and I have a feeling this fight isnâ€™t going to be that exciting. I think of Jon Fitch as a GSP-light. His stand up, wrestling, and submission skills are all pretty good, but not at the level of GSP.

If Fitch were smart, and he is, he would keep this fighting standing up. We used to see a ruthless Muay Thai approach in GSPâ€™s fights, but not anymore. Since being knocked out by Matt Serra, all GSP wants to do is take you down and pound you out.

I see this fight going much like the Pierre/Koscheck fight, though. It should be a wrestle fest with GSP securing a majority of the takedowns, submission attempts, and strikes on the ground.

Web programmer by day, practicing mixed martial artist at night, Larry Vollmer Jr. brings the latest news from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the rest of the mixed martial arts world - a fast-spreading obsession on TV and online. These are the bouts - they occur in an octagon-shaped "ring" - that test men's souls.